Friday, November 21
6:00 pm
University of California, Riverside
1-2
42
at
88
Utah
2-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Riverside | 21 | 21 | 42 |
| UTAH | 48 | 40 | 88 |
Photo by: Carlos Puma
Men's Basketball Falls at #25 Utah, 88-42
11/21/2014 8:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Salt Lake City, UT--The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team knew it had its hands full Friday evening as the Highlanders traveled to #25 Utah, and despite a team-high 14 points from Utah native Nick Gruninger, UCR fell 88-42.
The game was a homecoming of sorts for Gruninger who hails from Kaysville, about 20 miles north of Salt Lake City. He was the first member of the Highlanders to draw twine as he was fouled on a three-pointer with 1:55 gone in the first, and made all three freebies.
The Highlanders only trailed by two, 9-7, at the first media time out, and by five, 16-11, with 11:13 remaining in the first, but that's when the Utes turned up the defensive pressure. UC Riverside committed seven turnovers over the next seven minutes as Utah went on a 22-6 run to open up a 38-17 lead with 3:44 to go before the intermission.
It was a 48-21 Utes advantage at the half, as 10 different players dented the scoring column for Utah. They led the Highlanders 19-2 in points off of turnovers, 11-0 in second chance points, and 25-4 in bench scoring.
UC Riverside's leading scorer entering the game, Taylor Johns, was held scoreless in the first as he missed all six of his field goal attempts. Gruninger led UCR with seven points at the break thanks to a perfect five-for-five performance from the free throw line.
Utah scored the first five points coming out of the locker room, and that was when Gruninger tried to put the Highlanders on his back and will them back into the game. He scored seven straight points on three straight UC Riverside possessions, but the Utes countered by hitting back-to-back threes, and the Highlanders never got within 30 the rest of the way.
Kyle Kuzma led all scorers with 19 points off the bench for the Utes. He was joined in double figures by Delon Wright (13), Jordan Loveridge (12) and Brekkott Chapman (11). Gruninger was the only member of the Highlanders to reach double figures in scoring.
UC Riverside returns home this weekend for a sunday meeting with Saint Katherine at the SRC arena. tip is slated for 1 pm PT.
GAME NOTES
MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH
The Highlanders just missed becoming the fourth team in UCR history to make all of its free throws in a game while taking at least 10 free throws coming up one free throw short (9 for 9).
February 16, 1989 at Cal Poly (16 for 16)
November 23, 1996 vs. Cal Baptist (13 for 13)
December 28, 1995 vs. New Mexico (12 for 12)
BUTTS IN SEATS
The Highlanders came close to playing in front of their tenth crowd of 10,000 or more fans in their Division I era, but came up 355 fans short as 9,645 people walked through the turnstiles Friday evening.
Top Road Crowds, Division I Era
13,065 at Iowa State - Nov. 10, 2006
12,970 at UNLV - Nov. 12, 2010
12,414 at San Diego State - Nov. 8, 2013
11,871 at New Mexico - Nov. 14, 2009
11,555 at San Diego State - Dec. 19, 2011
11,232 at Minnesota - Dec. 1, 2007
10,220 at Fresno State - Nov. 30, 2001
10,220 vs. Montana State - Dec. 1, 2001
10,009 at #25 Utah State - Feb. 19, 2004
The game was a homecoming of sorts for Gruninger who hails from Kaysville, about 20 miles north of Salt Lake City. He was the first member of the Highlanders to draw twine as he was fouled on a three-pointer with 1:55 gone in the first, and made all three freebies.
The Highlanders only trailed by two, 9-7, at the first media time out, and by five, 16-11, with 11:13 remaining in the first, but that's when the Utes turned up the defensive pressure. UC Riverside committed seven turnovers over the next seven minutes as Utah went on a 22-6 run to open up a 38-17 lead with 3:44 to go before the intermission.
It was a 48-21 Utes advantage at the half, as 10 different players dented the scoring column for Utah. They led the Highlanders 19-2 in points off of turnovers, 11-0 in second chance points, and 25-4 in bench scoring.
UC Riverside's leading scorer entering the game, Taylor Johns, was held scoreless in the first as he missed all six of his field goal attempts. Gruninger led UCR with seven points at the break thanks to a perfect five-for-five performance from the free throw line.
Utah scored the first five points coming out of the locker room, and that was when Gruninger tried to put the Highlanders on his back and will them back into the game. He scored seven straight points on three straight UC Riverside possessions, but the Utes countered by hitting back-to-back threes, and the Highlanders never got within 30 the rest of the way.
Kyle Kuzma led all scorers with 19 points off the bench for the Utes. He was joined in double figures by Delon Wright (13), Jordan Loveridge (12) and Brekkott Chapman (11). Gruninger was the only member of the Highlanders to reach double figures in scoring.
UC Riverside returns home this weekend for a sunday meeting with Saint Katherine at the SRC arena. tip is slated for 1 pm PT.
GAME NOTES
MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH
The Highlanders just missed becoming the fourth team in UCR history to make all of its free throws in a game while taking at least 10 free throws coming up one free throw short (9 for 9).
February 16, 1989 at Cal Poly (16 for 16)
November 23, 1996 vs. Cal Baptist (13 for 13)
December 28, 1995 vs. New Mexico (12 for 12)
BUTTS IN SEATS
The Highlanders came close to playing in front of their tenth crowd of 10,000 or more fans in their Division I era, but came up 355 fans short as 9,645 people walked through the turnstiles Friday evening.
Top Road Crowds, Division I Era
13,065 at Iowa State - Nov. 10, 2006
12,970 at UNLV - Nov. 12, 2010
12,414 at San Diego State - Nov. 8, 2013
11,871 at New Mexico - Nov. 14, 2009
11,555 at San Diego State - Dec. 19, 2011
11,232 at Minnesota - Dec. 1, 2007
10,220 at Fresno State - Nov. 30, 2001
10,220 vs. Montana State - Dec. 1, 2001
10,009 at #25 Utah State - Feb. 19, 2004
Team Stats
UCRMBK
UTAH
FG%
.291
.518
3FG%
.077
.529
FT%
1.000
.750
RB
23
47
TO
14
9
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
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